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Fair enough. I can see that it would get boring. These are basic morality plays, and so far each one has been the adolescence to ultimate accomplishment of one person. The setting also runs on conservation of ninjitsu (on both sides). If I get there and I get bored, I'll mention it. As I did...

Basil Hayden's Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey TL;DR: Damn fine bourbon. Nothing too complex, it's a bourbon not a single malt. But it's a very good bourbon. Plenty of rasp and spice on the tongue at the first taste, but it's not overwhelming. Fades into caramel and vanilla, and tails off...

Suntory Toki Whiskey TL;DR: Straight down the middle whiskey with a mild sour note. This is a basic and cheap whiskey by Suntory. Cheap in this case does not mean bad. Not many complicated notes, but easy drinking and not distracting. Probably aimed at making a good whiskey sour, which seemed...

The Magic Engineer: The Saga of Recluce 3 by L. E. Modest, Jr. TL;DR: This is continuing to fill in blanks from the first published novel in this series. And as with the second novel, it is a complete story in itself. The writing is excellent, and the writing about relationships is less obtuse...

Charles Krug Pinot Noir 2013 Carneros Napa Valley This is a California Pinot Noir as opposed to an Oregon Pinot Noir or a French Pinot Noir. Which means it's far less robust than an Oregon Pinot Noir but more robust than a French Pinot Noir. 2013 was supposed to be a decent year for California...

Jura Journey This is an easy drinking lightly peated single malt scotch. Not as fragrant as 7 Wood. Pretty much as described, with a long subtle tail. Vanilla sticks out, and there's a bunch of other flavors. You can see the label and try to pick them out, but for me there are very slightly...

Kindle Unlimited TL;DR: This is a trap as you grow older and get more selective. It's fine for comfort reading, but can ruin your overall reading experience. Kindle Unlimited is an interesting idea. It drops the marginal price of trying a book to nothing and just charges you the subscription...

Totally Spies: Movie TL;DR: Only necessary to establish Alex's pet in season 6. Only watch this if you want more Totally Spies. I watched this in the wrong order. I should have watched this before season 6. That said, nothing important really happens. It is the origin story of the spies, and...

Totally Spies: Season 6 TL;DR: The satire became more pointed and less general. That made it good, but limited its appeal. It's much more of its time, and makes fun of smart phones and social media. I'm glad they did it, and I'm glad they only did one season. This is a sillier season (yes...

The Towers of the Sunset by L.E. Modesitt, Jr. TL;DR: This taught me a lot about what I can and cannot write. So this review may not be useful for you. That said, it's a prequel to the first book in the Saga of Recluce, and seems to define big parts of the setting for several of the following...

Totally Spies: Season 5 TL;DR: The spies graduate and go to college. There they do lots of the typical college stuff, trying to live in a dorm, sign up for classes, try to attend classes, get their "first" jobs, and deal with their standard shenanigans. At this point, I regard the show as a...

Street Cultivation by Sarah Lin TL;DR: This is a decent time waster. The setting conceits are fine. It hits a bunch of the tropes for Xianxia but is set in a generic American setting, making this urban Xianxia. The mention of sects feels a bit out of place compared to corporations. Demons are...

Odysseus Ascendant: Odyssey One 7 by Evan Currie Series TL;DR: This series does an excellent job world building and the space combat is excellent through the sixth book, and even through most of the seventh. This last one performs a mildly foreshadowed ass pull that allows Earth to threaten a...

Odysseus Awakening: Odyssey One 6 by Evan Currie TL;DR: The combat is good. The strategic situation is excellently laid out. The opponents are competent, the win isn't overwhelming or clean. This is well done speculative and naval fiction from a technical perspective, and the characterization...

Warrior King: Odyssey One 5 by Evan Currie TL;DR: The main part of this book was nice bit of chemistry between Stephanos and Milla as they attempt to dodge the bigger ships. It's one of the best parts of the series. This book introduces a more competent bit of the Empire military. The Empire...

Doc Swanson's Reserve Straight Bourbon Whiskey Finished in Sherry Casks This is a decent finished rye. Spoke to the saleswoman and got it at her recommendation. I generally don't like straight bourbons, I find the rye to be really harsh on my tongue. She mentioned that it had the rye, and...

Jura 7 Wood Ah, the good stuff. Jura is a Scottish island, like Islay, but this particular brand backs off the iodine and smoky peat notes that are the backbone of Islay single malts. This is a fragrant, well balanced (and expensive) scotch. It comes off with a sweet aftertaste on my tongue...

Out of the Black: Odyssey One 4 by Evan Currie TL;DR: I was not happy with this book. It went into ground combat, and Gaia got introduced. The MC is obviously capable of functioning as a ground combat leader, and functioning for extended periods of time on naps of 40 minutes or less. Someone's...

Homeworld: Odyssey One 3 by Evan Currie TL;DR: The end had a twist that pissed me off until I got into the fourth book. So good news, it's well written enough to hold my attention into the next book. Better news, the plot twist was redeemed into something much less egregious within the first...

The Heart of Matter: Odyssey One 2 by Evan Currie TL;DR: This is a good sequel, an excellent blend of action and world building. Short on some of the romance and betrayal I've come to expect from the new Battlestar Galactica, but this is an action/naval story and a different genre. Spoilers...